The “Lone Wolf” and al-Qaeda Sleeper Cells in the United States
Global Terrorism Analysis ^ | January 15, 2008 | Abdul Hameed Bakier
Posted on 01/16/2008 6:05:05 AM MST by Cannoneer No. 4
Since 9/11, the security and intelligence echelons of the United States have been preoccupied with the possibility of domestic al-Qaeda sleeper cells being activated to perpetrate additional terror attacks. In clandestine activities, a “sleeper” is an operative who establishes deep cover to evade security forces and accomplish his mission in hostile environments. To uncover such sleeper cells, the FBI has devised certain security measures throughout its field offices in the United States. Islamist militants, eager to again attack the United States, are posting instructions on jihadi websites as to how fellow militants could evade the security apparatus and carry out terror strikes on U.S. soil. Comparing the training instructions for jihadi sleepers with the security measures currently in place could shed light on other angles warranting consideration in the hunt for sole sleeper operatives and—to a lesser degree—sleeper cells.
A 2005 FBI report stated that the agency had been unable to find conclusive evidence of the existence of such cells (ABC News, March 9, 2005), though comments on jihadi websites suggest that they exist. The militants are aware of the FBI’s concern about sleeper cells in the United States; each time pertinent information is released in U.S. media, jihadi posters write comments and prayers for the success of those cells. One website participant—who appears to be knowledgeable about clandestine activities—has posted a code of conduct for sleepers in the United States. Nicknamed al-Muhajr, the forum member claims “sleeper cells are walking around the infidels’ land using different cover methods and white names that don’t attract American internal security’s attention, but that is not what terrifies the FBI in particular and internal American security in general. It’s al-Qaeda’s lone wolves that disrupt their tranquility and sleep” (hanein.info, January 1). Al-Muhajr proceeds to guide the “lone wolf” sleepers on the necessary skills to succeed in their mission:
• The sleeper should have excellent command of the local language, accent and slang.
• The sleeper’s appearance must not reveal their Arab or Islamic origins. To pretend to be of Hispanic extraction is preferable; therefore sleepers should learn Spanish and use Hispanic aliases.
• The sleeper must carry false identity documents, which are easily obtained in the United States. False identities must be used when buying munitions, shotguns or night vision equipment, etc. from licensed Wal-Mart stores or other shopping centers.
• Sleepers must choose their place of residence very carefully. The preferred choice of residence is in multicultural neighborhoods while eschewing areas frequented by drug dealers to avoid scrutiny from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
• The sleeper should learn martial arts and keep fit for personal protection
. • The sleeper must become highly literate in computers and the internet
. • The sleeper should become an expert in surveillance, counter-surveillance and observation.
• The sleeper should train with sniper rifles, especially U.S.-made weapons that are easily obtainable within the country. Al-Muhajr recommends five different types of U.S.-made rifles.
• The sleeper should train with assault pistols with silencers, the weapon of choice for assassinations.
• The sleeper should learn to prepare explosive belts and explosive charges big enough to booby-trap a small car.
Al-Muhajr goes on to say: “It’s a well-known fact that the perfect sleeper is the highly trained loner risking less chance of compromise. It takes one mistake by a cell member to compromise the entire cell.” To conclude, al-Muhajr cites the case of John Allen Muhammad, the serial killer who carried out sniper attacks in the Washington, DC metropolitan area in 2002. Muhammad was eventually captured because the fingerprints of his younger accomplice, Lee Boyd Malvo, were found at a crime scene. Therefore, al-Muhajr cautions, sleepers must be careful not to let their guard down at any time: “The lone wolf doesn’t worry about security penetrations.”
Although going under deep cover in Western society may involve contradicting certain aspects of Islamic ideology, Salafi-Jihadis have in the past justified certain unreligious practices under the principle of “deterring the bigger evil with a smaller evil.” Hence, profiling for possible sleepers must include ideology-oriented variables in addition to standard indicators, because no matter how well the sleeper assimilates to a foreign society, close scrutiny is bound to uncover certain latent and unavoidable habits.
placemark
IIRC about five years ago, freepers Old Sarge, judicial meanz and myself had this intense conversation as to the potential makeup and distribution of so called sleeper cells that might be infiltrated across our southern border. Based on Border Patrol apprehension stats at the time and giving a timeline for infiltration at about the previous ten years since AQ has ultra long range planning processes, there were (then) an estimated 70,000 potential terrorists in the country. Okay so not every person who crosses illegally has mayhem on his mind even if his country of origin is a terrorist threat to our nation.
There will be four types of terrorist sent:
The first will be the LONE WOLF who has been assigned a specific set of objectives or targets to attack once the predesignated "go code" is issued. This individual is highly trained in all aspects of intelligence tradecraft. He will speak flawless English and will have an established and not easily broken cover identity. This cover identity will be a "close hold" secret on the part of the chain of command as will the mission. This is the guy you'll never see coming until he's accomplished the mission. Unless you stumble over him in a set of circumstances worthy of a Hollywood script. Unlikely, but it could happen.
Next are the organized cells. These will consist of a specific number of men with specific training and experience needed to accomplish the mission. There will be the following: First of all a leader who will direct the attack. A logistics guy who will take care of all paperwork, securing a safehouse and securing the team jobs. He'll be responsible for procuring food, weapons and ammo. Also if needed explosives. He may well have a contact that is a member of a foreign intelligence service on our soil who will help him get what is necessary. There will be the Intel guy who is responsible for setting up the operation and planning the execution. He conducts target surveillance and will be highly trained in these techniques. There will be somebody responsible for security. For detecting attempts to infiltrate and observe by local or federal LEO's or intelligence agencies. They're also responsible for keeping cell members "in line." Most all of these individuals will have specific training and instructions to carry out their missions. No cell has any knowledge of the location or assignments for any other cell. This is a critical facet of effective security! Finally there may be an indeterminate number of shooters who will take care of bloody business.
Then there will be folks who are assisted in infiltration but whose missions have been limited to watching for the "go code" and then wreaking as much havoc as possible on targets of opportunity as they come to hand. These will be very difficult to detect before hand in one sense and yet an alert populace will find it easy to spot them because they've got no skills and are obviously the hate filled zealots that form the stereotype. These might be some of the examples of Sudden Jihadi Syndrome that have been popping onto the radar this last couple of years. You can be certain that the government at all levels will be spinning any such incident like crazy to avoid a panic.
Finally and more subtly there will be some local home grown variations and many will have become converted to radical Islam in prison. They will be Americans and although convicted felons, they will have in place a support structure that will probably be unavailable to the others. They will also have in place the criminal contacts to secure material to execute an operation or to secure the "funds" needed.